


Humiliation: Blast from the Past

by deebainwonderland



Series: Irondad Whumptober [17]
Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe, Spider-Man (Tom Holland Movies)
Genre: Father-Son Relationship, Humiliation, Platonic Cuddling, Precious Peter Parker, Tony Stark Acting as Peter Parker's Parental Figure, Tony Stark Needs a Hug, whumptober2019
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-10-25
Updated: 2019-10-25
Packaged: 2021-01-02 20:55:37
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,521
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21167732
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/deebainwonderland/pseuds/deebainwonderland
Summary: Peter gets an unexpected look into the, let's say, "colorful" past of Tony Stark.#whumptober2019 #no.25 #humilation





	Humiliation: Blast from the Past

Tony Stark had abnormally thick skin. A necessity really, when one’s name alone shoved them into the spotlight since birth. 

And it wasn’t as though his past was hidden. Tony lived his life in front of a camera and for most of that time, he’d honestly relished the attention. His partying ways, the revolving door of women, the immature attitude, it all had long documentation. 

Tony was _the_ Tony Stark. Rich, powerful and brilliant. He’d never had cause to feel the hot sting of humiliation before. Sure, there were things that he regretted about the past but Tony was a man who lived for the here and now. There had never been much reason to look back on the old Tony Stark. He emerged from that cave in Afghanistan an entirely new man. 

Perhaps that's why this humiliation was so unexpected. Or perhaps it was simply the company that made Tony want to crawl under the couch and hide.

It started like any other day. Tony sat in the corner of the couch, one leg lifted to rest on his other knee. Peter lay sprawled out over the rest of the couch, head in Tony’s lap. Tony’s fingers were moving slowly and methodically through Peter’s soft curls. He once asked the boy how it could possibly be comfortable to lay with his head on Tony’s bony legs. Peter only laughed.

The news was playing on the TV across from the two but they were only half-listening to it. Tony was distracted by the task of running his hands through the boy’s hair and counting his breaths as Peter’s chest methodically rose and fell. 

Peter’s own eyes were closed, so relaxed that he was dozing in and out of a light sleep. 

Tony hadn’t even registered that the news anchors started a new story until he heard his name from across the room. 

Tearing his eyes from the boy in his lap, Tony looked over to the TV. Two news anchors were sitting at their desk, talking to each other as a graphic played across the bottom of the screen. 

**Happy Early Birthday Stark Industries. **

Tony blinked at the screen. Huh, he had almost forgotten about that. 

“Yes, Stark Industries has been a powerful and influential company for decades now,” the woman newscaster said. “From Howard Stark to Tony Stark, the company has long had a powerful family at the helm.”

“Absolutely,” the male newscaster replied with a large smile of perfectly white teeth. “But let’s not forget the early years of Tony Stark’s reign. There was a lot of talk back then if party-boy Stark was the right person for the job. He certainly had some, let’s say, other interests.” 

Tony shifted uncomfortably and glanced down at the boy next to him. Peter’s eyes were now open and he was watching the TV curiously. Tony glanced around for the remote. Damn, there it was on the other end of the side table, out of Tony’s reach. 

“You’re absolutely right, Craig,” the women on the screen said. “Let’s take a look at this video from twenty years ago. Remember folks, this was long before Tony Stark was Iron Man. See if you can recognize him!”

_ Uh-oh _, was the only thing Tony had time to think before the screen changed. A lavish ballroom appeared. Tony didn’t remember it specifically but it was likely one of the many parties he’d thrown back in the day.

The camera zoomed in and Tony winced as the younger version of himself came into focus. He was seated at a poker table with both arms around beautiful, scantily clad women and a drink in hand. He was talking but the background noise of the crowd was so loud that he couldn't make out the words. However, the gist of it was obvious. The people around him were laughing too loudly as he swayed and held out his glass for another drink. 

The video cut out as quickly as it had started. Tony sat stiffly on the couch, staring at the screen in horror. 

The newscasters reappeared. They were laughing and the woman had brought one hand up to her mouth to hold in her snorts. 

“Well, Melissa, I think that video tells it all,” Craig said, still laughing. “It’s nice to know that some things do change. Let’s all wish Stark Industries and their illustrious leader a very happy birthday! Don’t party too hard, Tony!”

With that, a new logo spun into the screen, moving the station onto the weather news.

Tony could barely breathe. He felt like he’d been slapped in the face. A hot flush of humiliation crept up his neck and he couldn’t bring himself to look at the precious boy beneath him. God, he’d never wanted Peter to see him like that.

There were a few moments of silence before Tony felt a small hand brush against his chin.

“Mr. Stark?” Peter said softly, “Are you ok? You kind of look like you’re going to be sick.”

Tony fought against the bile in his throat and still didn’t look down. “Yeah, kid, I’m fine. No problems here.”

Peter sat up and Tony let his limp hand fall away from the boy’s hair. Peter turned to sit cross-legged sideways on the couch facing the man next to him. 

“You’re upset,” he said thoughtfully, watching Tony with wide eyes.

“I’m fine, Pete,” Tony answered sharply, leaning over to grab the remote. “Let’s watch a movie instead. You can pick one out.” 

He held out the remote but Peter didn’t take it. “What’s wrong?” 

“Nothing!” snapped Tony, suddenly lunging to his feet. “Leave it alone, Peter!”

Peter sat frozen on the couch looking up at his mentor with hands gripped into tight fists against his pant legs. 

“Shit,” Tony said softly. A bad situation to a worse one. Turns out he was still excellent at being a screw-up. 

He dropped to his knees in front of the boy and reached out shaky hands for Peter’s face. “I’m sorry, kiddo. I didn’t mean that.”

“It’s… ok,” Peter murmured, seemingly unsure of how to proceed. It had been a long time since Tony yelled at him but it was as unpleasant as always.

Tony sighed and dropped a hand to rub a comfortingly on the boy’s knees. “It’s ok, Pete. It’s not you. I’m just… I didn’t want you to see that.”

“The video?” Peter asked. Tony was surprised by the confusion in the boy’s tone. 

“Yeah, kiddo,” Tony replied, looking down at his hand, “Not exactly my best light.”

“But there are a lot of videos like that,” Peter said. “Everyone knows about all that.” 

Tony groaned and dropped his head down to rest on his hand. “That doesn’t help, Pete.” 

This time, it was Peter’s fingers that dipped into Tony’s hair, running comfortingly through the strands. The two were silent for a long moment before Peter spoke again. “Oh,” he said thoughtfully. “You’re embarrassed.”

Tony’s eyes shot open but he didn’t move. He felt like his knees had been bolted to the ground. 

“I’m sorry that stuff isn’t private, Mr. Stark,” Peter said.

That did make Tony lookup. “Huh?” 

Peter looked back at him with soft eyes. “Well, you’re not like that anymore. It shouldn’t have to hang over you like that. That video didn’t even have anything to do with their story. They just showed it for drama.”

“And you would know about drama, huh, kid?” Tony asked, smiling. 

“Sure, Mr. Stark. I’m in high school. That’s like getting a Ph.D. in drama.”

Tony laughed and pulled himself up to sit next to the boy. “I just don’t like you thinking about me from back then. It wasn’t a good look in a lot of ways.”

Peter shrugged. “Everyone’s got a past. I bet the Tony from back them wouldn’t have looked twice at a kid like me. But you did. You do. So why should I focus on anything but that?” 

Tony swallowed and knocked his shoulder against Peter’s. “How’d I end up with such a good kid, huh?”

“Probably cause you’re not like that anymore,” Peter said with a grin, jerking his head in the direction of the television.

“Ok, I changed my mind, you’re terrible,” Tony groaned, pulling Peter towards him. Peter came willingly, resting against his shoulder.

Tony tried to push down the humiliation that was still clogging up his lungs. Of course, Peter already knew about all that. Of course, he did. Peter was right, the whole world knew. It was just something about being alone in this room with him, this place that was meant to be safe, and having that callously thrown in his face made Tony want to fade into the back of the couch. 

Tony Stark wasn’t easily embarrassed about his past. Every step he took brought him closer to this moment, to this life, and to this kid. It wasn’t easy to be ashamed of so many years of one’s life. But as Peter buried deeper into his hold, Tony knew that no matter what happens from here on out, he could never regret them.

**Author's Note:**

> Please leave a kudo and/or comment if you enjoyed!


End file.
